What gives has the list server gone belly up?

[David A. Bandel]

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On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 21:04:07 +0000
Alma J Wetzker <almaw at ieee.org> wrote:

[snip]

> > You mean like: RTFM!!
> 
> That could be one of them type answers.  It really isn't as helpful as
> it looks.  The "Flamin' Manual" comes in many sections and more files.
>  Often you 
> need the name of a utility to do what you need.  Pointing folks to
> WHICH manual is all the help they need.  Telling them to "bite the
> wall" may feel good, in a mean spirited sort of way, but it helps no
> one.
> 

Many years ago, perhaps '96 or '97, I posted answers to questions, but
often not the answer looked for.  That is, if someone wanted to do X,
they were often looking for a 'cd here, type this, put that, do the
other thing, twirl around in your chair 3 times, say the following
incantation while waving a chicken foot in the direction of the monitor,
and you'll have it' type answer.

My answers usually worked like:  basically, you have this problem, so
you need to find information about how to fix K so that Y will work how
you want.  The info is in the widget man page (just run: man 5 widget)
and you'll find exactly what you want.

Now, a few folks tried to flame me telling me, either give the guy the
answer or don't bother posting.

My response was:  better to teach him _how_ to fish ... which is exactly
what my answers provided.  The missing piece of information with which
to complete the puzzle (rather than just completing it for him or her,
so (s)he could perhaps begin to understand _how_ things work).  I've
lost my touch in recent years.

OTOH, there were a few folks who expected to be spoon fed and for whom
"RTFM you waste of bandwidth" _was_ the appropriate response.  We
haven't had any of those folks on this list for a long time.

Ciao,

David A. Bandel
- -- 
Focus on the dream, not the competition.
		Nemesis Racing Team motto
GPG key autoresponder:  mailto:david_key at pananix.com
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